List of Top 20 Countries Worst Affected by Internet Crimes in 2020
The United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on Wednesday, March 17, released its annual crime report tagged The 2020 Internet Crime Report.
PAY ATTENTION: Join Legit.ng Telegram channel! Never miss important updates!
The report which was authored by the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center includes information from 791,790 complaints of suspected internet crime and reported losses exceeding $4.2 billion.
Source: Getty Images
According to the report, the top three crimes reported by victims in 2020 were:
1. Phishing scams
2. Non-payment/non-delivery scams
3. Extortion
Legit.ng gathers from the report that victims lost the most money to business email compromise scams, romance and confidence schemes, and investment fraud.
Also, the year 2020 saw the emergence of scams exploiting the COVID-19 pandemic, the report noted.
The report also listed the top 20 countries with the highest number of victims of internet crimes, excluding the United States. See the list below:
1. United Kingdom (216,633 victims)
2. Canada (5,399 victims)
3. India (2,930 victims)
4. Greece (2,314 victims)
5. Australia (1,807 victims)
6. South Africa (1,754 victims)
7. France (1,640 victims)
8. Germany (1,578 victims)
9. Mexico (1,164 victims)
10. Belgium (1,023 victims)
11. Brazil (951 victims)
12. Philippines (898 victims)
13. Italy (728 victims)
14. Spain (618 victims)
15. Netherlands (450 victims)
16. Nigeria (443 victims)
17. Pakistan (443 victims)
18. China (442 victims)
19. Colombia (418 victims)
20. Hong Kong (407 victims)
PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigeria’s #1 news app
Meanwhile, in 2020, the Nigeria Police Force unveiled a new web portal where victims of cybercrime and other complainants can promptly report their cases from any part of the world.
The force's public relations officer, Frank Mba, explained that the portal which can be accessed via http://incb.police.gov.ng is part of efforts directed at ensuring ease of reportage by members of the public.
The police spokesperson said the online portal will enable prompt investigation, arrest and prosecution of perpetrators of cybercrime and other related offences.
*****
Nurudeen Lawal is a Legit.ng journalist passionate about fact-checking/verification journalism. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Literature-in-English from Obafemi Awolowo University. As Politics Editor, Nurudeen mostly writes on Nigeria’s political and socio-economic developments. He has attended different workshops, conferences and training on fact-checking and digital reporting, among others. Learn more about him on Twitter, @Nurudeen Lawal_
Source: Legit.ng
